Gung-Ho
by Sylvie Orp
Summary: Even veterans continue to learn from experience


Bodie and Doyle had got into some hand-to-hand stuff with a gang who weren't going to give up easily. But it was three against two, so the odds were definitely on CI5's side. A hefty, well aimed punch from Bodie and it was suddenly two-to-two. Doyle ducked under a punch from his oppo and stepped back to aim a kidney punch. Unfortunately he tripped backwards over Bodie's unconscious man. He rolled deftly however to avoid a kicking. Then things got sticky when, out of nowhere, the opposition's cavalry arrived in a ramshackled van.

"Stop!" yelled their leader, sounding like a good Henry V. To emphasise his words, he took a shot in the air savouring the drama.

Everyone stayed still as though playing Statues. Then Bodie took the initiative, though Doyle was still on the ground, and - though now outnumbered two to five - he made a brave go at it. Doyle saw at once that Bodie was going to continue the battle and had no choice but to join in, so yanked at the nearest leg to get his man off balance. Suddenly there was a shot. Bodie turned to see what had happened but was bundled away by the gang. All he saw were Doyle's legs. They weren't moving any more.

"_No_!" he screamed in his head as a gun was pointed towards him. But the thought was aimed at his friend not at his own situation.

They shoved Bodie into the back of a van with 'Henry V' pressing a gun to his temple, daring him to try anything again. Bodie tried to assess what had just happened. It had all be so quick. Their journey didn't last long and Bodie was dragged out of the van, the gang making sure that he had a nice fall to the ground on the way. Bodie didn't have much time for sight-seeing and the gang were, it seemed, deliberately crowding him so that he couldn't see much. They pushed him into a dank cell. They seemed to have difficulty locking it; there was a lot of grating and scratching. It seemed that the lock hadn't been used for some time. Finally, pitch darkness and silence, and Bodie was left alone with his thoughts. He pushed his emotions to one side - he was good at that - and concentrated on the facts, in order and one by one. He reflected on what had led he and his partner to the derelict docks in the first place, the goons they'd met there (expected), and then the second wave (unexpected). Then the shot. He couldn't get that out of his mind. The sound seemed to ricochet around his brain. It wasn't a shooting; it was an execution. If he hadn't tried some 'Dan Dare' heroics, Doyle wouldn't have got a bullet in the head. They'd probably left him there. No point in dragging his body along with them. His emotions were rising to the surface again, making clear thought difficult. Sighing, he got up and tried the door without much hope, there was no window, so he hunkered back in the corner in the darkness and tried to still his mind and keep the vultures at bay - guilt, fear, shock, anger.

Finally he dozed off, but was eventually stirred into some kind of half-wakefulness by a tapping sound. At first he dismissed it as, perhaps, a dripping tap but it was too fast and irregular. Then he recognised it for what it was - Morse code. Bodie didn't believe in ghosts or ouija boards. Doyle - a live, breathing Doyle - was getting through! He laughed into the darkness when he spelt out the word being tapped - B-o-d-i-e. Relief washed through him like a cold wave. He tapped back Doyle's name with the end of a cigarette lighter, his hand shaking. Then he tapped, "Ok". There was no reply. So Bodie expanded - "Are you ok?" The cigarette lighter was now leaking. It couldn't endure much more hammering.

Doyle replied. "Ok. You."

Bodie took that to be a question and replied in the affirmative. Bodie didn't trust that his partner was ok, he was always reticent on that subject, but at least he was conscious. They then ran out of things to say to each other, or perhaps Doyle's tapper had bust. But he was alive. That was the main thing. Now to the next problem - getting out of here.

Bodie finally drifted to sleep again, the problem still unsolved, as the night passed uncomfortably. He felt a lot easier in his mind knowing that his mate was just the other side of the wall. Eventually he was roused by a familiar grating sound. His cell was being unlocked again. The door opened outwards into the corridor, so Bodie couldn't hide behind it. He got to his feet slowly, prepared to face whatever needed to be faced. As the door opened a weak light filtered into the cell. Then nothing happened. No body appeared, no voices commanding him to step outside, no violence. The silence and the light beckoned him forward. After much hesitation, Bodie cautiously moved forward, keeping to the wall adjoining Doyle's cell. Still nothing. Bodie wasn't going to give his captors the satisfaction of him calling out. Eventually a man moved into the doorway. His outline silhouetted against the light.

"Are you going to stay there all day, mate? We do have other things to do today, apart from saving your arse."

"Jax?" Bodie breathed incredulously.

"No, the tooth fairy."

Bodie moved forward with more confidence, but still wary. He didn't trust luck; it had a way of letting him down. But, once he'd got close enough and his eyes had got used to the light, he could see that it was indeed his colleague. He was going to ask how he'd found them, but his more immediate concern was Doyle. As Bodie stepped into the corridor he looked about to see if Jax's partner was around too but instead saw Doyle leaning insolently against the wall, arms and legs crossed; a lazy smile on his face. He winked lewdly and clicked his tongue. He was enjoying his friend's confusion. Bodie tried to get his face and emotions into neutral, but Doyle was sharp and had seen the relief in Bodie's eyes a second before he closed down. They looked at each other for a while before Jax broke the spell.

"Well, unless you like living in a dungeon, I think we should go."

As they all trailed outside, Bodie and Doyle dropped back for a quiet word.

"Don't ever pull that stunt again, Bodie," Doyle hissed, anger and fear rising to the surface. "Do you know how close that bullet was? Do I have to spell …"

"I know, Ray, I know. I'm sorry. I got carried away. I thought: one gun, two of us …"

"How did you know there was only one gun?"

Bodie didn't. Doyle was right from start to finish. He should have at least given his partner the chance to get to his feet before trying anything. He was lucky - they both were. He knew Doyle wouldn't mention this to Cowley, but Bodie was frightened enough not to ever put his partner in danger like that again. Even veterans continue to learn from experience.


End file.
